SS2 subtitles

[674023da16c93Xerxes]

Thanks, for the record, you extract the archive into a 'subtitles' subfolder in the main system shock 2 directory.

Is there a way to disable voice audio but keep sound effects? If I push the Voice/Ambient Balance all the way to the left it cuts out all SFX (footsteps etc) and voice.

[674023da16fe8Marvin]

What do you mean by "disable voice audio"? You can delete the respective folders in snd.crf and snd2.crf in the Data\res folder. snd contains the enemy barks, snd2 contains emails and audio logs. Just remember to make a backup.
If you're talking about subtitle controls, look for the respective entries in cam_ex.cfg.

[674023da1710aXerxes]

In System Shock 1 there was an in-game setting to disable voice audio, I guess there's no such setting in System Shock 2.

Removing snd2.crf seems to do what I want, though now there's no audio in the main menu.

[674023da17218Marvin]

You can delete individual folders from snd2.crf, you don't have to nuke the whole archive.

[674023da1735cZylonBane]

For the love of god, don't go deleting things from the CRFs.

[674023da1744fXerxes]

Ah okay so I found you can rename it to .zip to modify the contents. I guess the subtitles are tied to the audio, there are no subtitles in basic training etc.

[674023da1769cZylonBane]

I guess the subtitles are tied to the audio

Yes, you have just defined what subtitles are.

[674023da178e5Marvin]

For the love of god, don't go deleting things from the CRFs.

What other way do you suggest to mute particular sounds?

[674023da17a30Kolya]

empty placeholder files in a mod for example

[674023da17b0fMarvin]

Works the same if you have a backup I guess.

[674023da17d29ZylonBane]

empty placeholder files in a mod for example

Or...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_BU5hR9gXE

[674023da17f1fKolya]

Works the same if you have a backup I guess.

Yes, it works. But nondestructive modding is preferable.

[674023da18048Marvin]

It is, but it also takes more time. You have to create an empty .wav file, write a script which replaces all the sounds you want to mute with that file, zip everything up and put that in the mod folder.

[674023da181ceKolya]

Huh? You just need the paths/names of the files you want to replace. Creating an empty wav file is not necessary, you just create a text file and rename it. Then duplicate it a dozen times.
Pack those files in the same structure as they are in the game, using folders instead of CRFs and that's it. Why would you need a script for this? Empty files don't take up any space.

[674023da182e8Marvin]

You would manually rename several hundred files? Okay.

[674023da18430Kolya]

I would find a way to let Total Commander's multiple renaming tool do it for me, but that's not the point. As long as the operation is done beforehand the tools don't matter. The point is that the end result should be a nondestructive mod, which can be combined with other mods and be shared with other people who may be interested in it.
Destructive modding with backups may work for one person and one modification. But as soon as you want to make several such modifications it becomes very complicated and the chance of screwing up your game rises. Sharing is hardly possible.

[674023da18520Marvin]

I'm not arguing the quality of the solution, I get your point. This was a quick-and-dirty fix, nothing else.

[674023da18672voodoo47]

attached a modmanager friendly version to the first post, as the regular archive was making people cry.

[674023da187abZylonBane]

I wonder if we're at the point now where it's worth the effort to gather together all these subtitle mods into a single thread, or a single thread linking to all the various threads, or something. At least the documentation for them should be consistent.

[674023da188afvoodoo47]

I'm guessing that having a topic that would link and/or store the latest versions of all the available subtitles in a modmanager friendly format wouldn't hurt - as long as they work and are accurate enough.

[674023da189bdZylonBane]

Regarding mod packing, I see you included a user.cfg in your version. Are you sure that's the best way to go? If the user wants to modify the subtitle filtering, that means they have to change a file in the mod, which I assume is generally not a good idea.

[674023da18afbvoodoo47]

well, it's better than having to poke around cam_ext.cfg, imho (if I remember correctly, the engine reads all instances of user.cfg, and even if not, non-editor people shouldn't have anything important there that would get overridden). one way or another, I'm open to suggestions - this was just a quick repack to get it working in an easy way for the deaf guy from the steam forum, and the first rule of engineering (anything downloaded from here may, or may not work properly) still applies.

[674023da18c66ZylonBane]

But anyone who doesn't know what they're doing should be using SS2Tool anyway, which already manages enabling subtitle support.

Question for anyone with the German sub: In the file vEmails EM0101.wav, does Polito say "I've got to get to deck--" or "You've got to get to deck--". In the English version the text says "I've", but it would make more sense as "You've", and the audio itself could be either.

[674023da18daaMarvin]

In the German version, she clearly says "I've got to get to deck [...]" and that's how it's subtitled, too.
I'm fine with a general thread as the German subtitles are at the same level as the English ones. @unn_atropos wanted to do something about them, still, but I haven't heard back from him.